Chris Carter went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts yesterday before being removed from the game defensively, making him 0-for-32 with 13 strikeouts (and one walk!) to begin his big-league career. Carter’s brutal hitless streak is the longest by any player to start a career since Vic Harris went 0-for-36 for the Rangers in 1972.
Harris rebounded from that to play eight years in the majors, but hit just .217 for his career. He was also a middle infielder and center fielder, whereas Carter’s career will be entirely dependent on him putting up big numbers at the plate. He’s in left field now because the A’s are trying ways to get him and Daric Barton in the same lineup, but Carter has looked pretty bad defensively.
His struggles in the outfield are to be expected from a 6-foot-5, 240-pound guy who played almost exclusively first base in the minors prior to this season, but the flailing away at the plate is unexpected considering he hit .284/.380/.540 with 149 homers in 673 games as a minor leaguer. Carter has always struck out a lot and that may keep him from posting decent batting averages long term, but he’s shown enough plate discipline and power to suggest he’ll be just fine once that first hit finally arrives.